Adult daughter wants to write poetry. She thinks I am not supportive. Is there a publication I can get her?

Question

I am a visual artist. Carving, painting... are my idea of art.

She prefers music and arts using writen words. These are enjoyable but I know nothing about them. Is there a publication (poetry world ?) that I could get her a subscription to? I would like it if it offered not only good work for reading but also suggestions of how to get somewhere with a gift like hers. Right now she is a waitress and wants to change but hates school, and constrictive (her words not mine) education. Please someone... any ideas, I love her and want to build bridges to show her I care and support what ever she wants to do. She is bright and always wanted to write even as a young girl.

Answer 1

If she is serious about writing poetry she might consider joining a writing group, sometimes findable through a local library. If that is too amateurish for her, she should consider going to a university and looking into its MFA (Master of Fine Arts) programs.

I have a few doubts here. People who want to write, whether it is poetry or non-fiction, fiction or song lyrics, whatever, do it, without needing support. The pursuit of poetry in a serious way has nothing to do with personality development. It is about the art and the art only.

Of course, your daughter may not be serious at this level. If she is not or is only exploring, order a copy of _The Writer's Market_ or _Poet's Market_; either of those books will list places to publish. Possibly even better, you could buy her a subscription to _Poetry_ magazine--the website is <>,http://www.poetrymagazine.org>, and that will enable her to find out pretty fast whether this is for her or not.